Piece Of Our Puzzle
by OddCloud
Summary: The one thing that was present in the most important moments of their lives.   Feelings hidden in the back of their minds, want to come back to light... Is it too late to let them out?


**This story has started on a total different idea, intended to go on a total different direction but I let it all go and it transformed into this :)  
I hope I had not missed grammar mistakes or any of this kind. I hope you enjoy it!  
Feedback is greatly appreciated, I meant it!  
When someone takes time to review it make me feel happy and proud that my story was liked by somebody! :)**

**For those of you that are reading 'Wandering Through Life', no I haven't forgotten about it. Quite the opposite, I'm just hitting a rough path and the next chapter isn't coming out as I want it to. I re-wrote it around 4 times, i think, if not more. So, please have some more patience with me, it will come out eventually. I really feel bad about keeping you waiting but I can't do much about it. I discovered that reading good stories helps though, it gets me moving, so if you have any good stories tell me :) Preferably completed :)**

**Otherwise, I'm done with rambling, so, go one and read the story!  
**

* * *

The brunette's hand cupped the warm mug and inhaled the sweet scent of tea. It was quite cold that morning, even for mid September. Yet, the young woman didn't hesitate to have her tea in the backyard that morning, a habit she picked in the past months. She leaned on the swing's wooden back and started balancing back and forth with her legs. The gentle movement matched her calm estate that morning. She took a small sip from her mug, feeling the warm liquid travel down her throat.

"Gabriella!" a gentle voice called out her name.

The young brunette was slightly startled by the voice, but relaxed. Her features sketched a warm smile. She gestured for the other woman to approach her, patting the empty space on the double seat swing.

"Good morning, mama!" Gabriella greeted and her smile widened a little. It was such a simple gesture, a smile, yet it did so much. Her mother smiled back, taking the seat beside her.

"Good morning, hija!"

The two sat in silence price a few moments.

"I was thinking the other day… this place hasn't really changed, has it?"

Gabriella froze, lost in her thoughts. She never really thoughts about it, but it was true. The house she called home was almost the very same one years back. It had the same color and it still had that comfortable feeling of _home_. That house was Gabriella refugee. Still, now twenty five years old, she found herself coming back to the place she grew up. She finished college and returned home.

"I am going to work sweetie. I'll see you later." The woman said and kissed her daughter's forehead. Just then, Gabriella returned from her thoughts. She smiled and said goodbye to her mother, her eyes following the woman up until she disappeared in the house.

A sudden feeling came back from behind the walls of her mind. She hid it well, so well that she completely forgot about… She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. There was no use in remembering something like that and crying over something that could've or could've not happen. Yet, that memory so well hidden till then continued to haunt her every thought. His eyes, his smile, the way he talked in that relaxed manner… everything he did caused her stomach to do flips years ago… And now, the feeling was back at just a simple and single thought about him.

She exhaled shakily and decided to head back inside. She needed to get away for a bit, to clear her mind. The memories rushed in her mind like a waterfall, crowding her thinking and pushing her emotions to the limit.

Gabriella placed her half full cup of tea in the sink and grabbed her keys by the counter. She just fetched her black converse by the stair case but didn't bother to change her clothes: a pair of faded jeans, a yellow t-shirt and a light blue, wool blazer on top, which reached below her waist. She ran a hand through her curls. She sketched a grimace… Back then she had longer hair, reaching down her back. Now, it barely touched her shoulders.

She started up her car and pulled out of the drive way. She knew exactly where she wanted to go, it was kind of far form her home but she felt like she needed to be there. Driving along the familiar streets of the town she smiled sadly. He used to point out the weirdest people passing by, laugh at them and still drive at the same time. She always wondered how he managed to do it. She never found out, as she always kept her eyes on the road.

Then she was there. She quickly found a spot to park in. The town was small, so nobody was fighting for parking spots like in the big cities. She turned off the engine and leaned in her chair, just watching the paved alley that led among the trees, the alley she walked on so many times, an alley that held so many memories…

* * *

He finished his mug of coffee long ago, yet he didn't bother to take it to the kitchen. His blue eyes wandered across the garden from the balcony of his room. It was the same as he remembered it. Every detail of the house was the same… except his father. He passed away two years before. They were never really close, but he missed his father, he couldn't lie about that.

"Troy! Will you come down here, please?" a voice called from below the balcony.

He glanced down with a smile. His mother returned it.

"I'll be right there." He replied and disappeared inside.

He decided to follow his dream in the end. After discussions and pressure on him to follow up the path of sports and play in the NBA, he decided to do art, what he liked best. He didn't regret it one bit. He was still playing basketball, but just when he was in the mood and went out with the guys. He finished college three years before and got a job pretty quickly in the same city he went to college. He moved out there, took his own apartment and such. But now, he took a break; he took two weeks off from work and returned home.

He chuckled to himself as he was climbing down the stairs. He was living on his own for more than three years, yet, the word _home _was always sending him back to his childhood house and hometown.

"What is it mom?" he asked while quickly washing his mug in the sink.

"I need you to do some groceries." she said waving a list.

He chuckled and nodded his head. He arrived two days ago, yet he started feeling like he never left. His mother also thought he was too skinny and that he wasn't eating enough. Of course he tried to assure her he was eating but because he was constantly working and stressing, he wasn't gaining weight. She still held her position, telling him he lost weight and that he was pale, compared to the last time she saw him.

"I'm on my way." He said, grabbing his car keys and the list form his mother's hands.

"Thank you, honey!"

"It's my pleasure." He smirked and winked.

"Keep your charms for a possible daughter in law." His mother commented while heading back in the backyard.

He felt like a rock hit him in the chest as her image flashed in his mind. He sighed at his pathetic self. She probably didn't even know he existed anymore… in fond, why would she? He hadn't done anything special; he had been just her friend and nothing more. She was two years younger than him, yet that didn't stop him for falling for her. And that fall left scars.

He climbed in his car and drove away to the commercial center, wanting to complete the list and take his mind off _her_. Lost in his thoughts, he almost ran a red light, but stopped in time.

Troy left his car in the first empty spot he found near the market. Then, he took it by foot. He finished shopping quicker than he wished. While putting the groceries in the trunk, his eyes fell on the park. It held a lot of memories for him…

He pushed the trunk's door down and headed for the alley he walked on so many times before…

* * *

Gabriella walked slowly down the alley, glancing more at her feet and occasionally around at the other people. The fresh air made her feel better, a little. It started warming up as well, so she took her blazer off, leaving her in the yellow t-shirt.

Then, her eyes fell on a very familiar tree. The old oak was probably the oldest in the whole park, and the place she ran to most of the time. He always found her there, sitting by it, reflecting on things. He never told her mother that was the place she ran to when she was upset. It was like an intimate spot in a populated area, a spot they shared and kept as a secret.

She sat down by the tree's base and a familiar feeling invaded her body. She felt like she was a teenager once more, hiding from an argument she had with her mother or a bad mark she wanted to forget about. She felt all warm and secure on the inside, a feeling that place never ceased to awaken.

"I never thoughts I'd find you here again… Brie…"

Her old nickname rolled off his tongue with ease as her breath stumbled in her throat.

* * *

He found his way up the path among the trees. It was such a familiar place, such a familiar landscape… it was a place that held an important part of his memories. He walked further, at a slow pace with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. His light blue shirt hung loose on his body, unbuttoned, on top of a white wife beater, while his caramel hair was a mess, a few strikes covering his eyes.

He froze when his eyes fell on the old oak.

"It can't be her…" he mumbled, eying the girl at it base, dressed in a yellow t-shirt, he curls cascaded by her face. She seemed to have her eyes closed.

He approached her carefully and a smile made its way on his features. Words stumbled out of his mouth faster than he could process what would follow.

"I never thought I'd find you here again… Brie…"

He was leaning against the tree, right beside her, glancing down at her. He was surprised to hear the old nickname he gave her roll off his tongue with such ease, as if he had been saying it on a regular basis in the last couple of years.

Her eyes were wide opened the next second, glancing up into his blue orbs. She was shocked, he could tell as her chest stopped moving, her breath caught in her throat price a few moments. She could hear the blood pumping in her ears; her heart was beating like a hammer, trying to get out of her chest. She didn't know what to say.

"Hi…" she heard herself saying. Such a simple word, so casual. She mentally slapped herself.

He chuckled at her and flashed her a smile. Her heart melted and she could swear it skipped a beat when their eyes met for a second time.

"Hi." He replied just a simple, sitting down beside her and leaning against the tree as well.

They stood a silence for a while, neither knowing what to say. They felt like strangers to one another, caught in an awkward silence that neither knew how to break.

She leaned onto him unconsciously. A wave of warm rushed through his body. She blushed and glanced at her feet. She didn't move her head off his shoulder and he leaned his head against hers. They just stood in silence, it slowly becoming comfortable.

"I missed you…" he was the first to speak.

She looked straight into his eyes, shocked. She hadn't expected him to say that. She thought he barely remembered she existed. Instead, she smiled and snuggled into his chest.

"I missed you too…" she mumbled as he placed an arm around her.

"My mom… made me remember all of our times together…" she started uneasy.

"My mom reminded me of you as well…" he said staring blankly someplace in the park. "I am ashamed to say that I tried to move on… I tried to put everything behind…"

"Don't be." She said simply "I've also tried to forget everything, to put it in the back of my mind in hope that…" she hesitated.

"That?" he urged her.

"That it wouldn't hurt that much…" She was embarrassed to admit it out loud. "It hasn't been the same without you… Nothing has been the same. But I thought you barely remembered me and that it was better to try and forget…"

"Funny thing I thought the same about you." He pondered, searching in his thoughts "I thought you forgot about me and I tried to put every feeling and memory in the back of my mind…" he pondered, whether it was wroth the shot and say it out loud. "I've started falling for you ever since I've set my eyes on you, when you were in freshmen year..." He admitted, scratching the back of his head "But I never got the courage to admit it."

She felt as if someone took her breath away. She froze in the spot for a moment, shivers running through her body. When she finally took a breath, it was shaky and she was still feeling numb.

"What gave you the courage now?" she choked out, still shocked of his confession.

"It was now or never… It was worth a shot, I don't think I could have gone knowing I didn't admit it when I had the chance…" he whispered, distant, lost in his thoughts.

She swallowed, glancing at him from the corner of her eyes. He caught her sight and raised his eyebrows ever so slightly. She took a deep breath and looked back at him.

"Want to know something?" she asked barely above a whisper, as if she would be telling him the biggest secret on earth, just like when they were kids.

"What?" he whispered, his lips mere inches apart from hers.

"I fell for you the first time I saw you too." She whispered back, leaning onto him.

He captured her lips in a kiss and she melted at his touch. Her fingers tangled in his hair, dragging him closer to her. His arms circled around her petite frame, crushing her against his body. They were laying on the grass, with him towering over her. It was a slow, gentle kiss, holding the emotions they had never shown for each other. They were both panting slightly when he broke the kiss. He rested his forehead against hers, giving her a grin. She touched her nose with his and he chuckled, kissing it.

He stood from the ground, prompting himself against the tree. She leaned against his body as he hugged her from behind, both lying there, not caring about anything and anyone. She closed her eyes, feeling the gentle wind whistle around them. He brushed his lips o her forehead in a tender kiss, wishing the moment to freeze. There was no need for words anymore. It was all said, there was nothing more to add. She shivered involuntarily as he nuzzled his nose against the soft skin of her neck, taking in her scent. She opened her eyes just barely to glance down at him.

He chased her lips in another kiss. There was passion, there was gentleness, there was love… and there was innocence.

* * *

His blue eyes wandered around the familiar landscape of the park behind bathed in sun rays of the early autumn. He smiled briefly as his eyes landed on the old oak. It was still there. It was like a piece of the time, always there, always the same…

Her hand slipped into his. He grinned as she leaned against his arms only to be swooped into his arms, fully engulfed into his arms. They met when she was four and he was six, at the old oak. They played and then separated. Years later, they met again, under the same tree, at the age of fifteen and seventeen. They instantly became friends, developing what was going to be something much more deeply than pure friendship.

They were apart for years, only to reunite under the old oak. They confessed their feelings there. He knelt on one knee for her, there. It was definitely an important piece of their lives.

"Our place…" she whispered gingerly.

He only raised his glance to where she was looking. He smiled slightly. So much had happened there, indeed.

"A place to call our own…" she repeated with a bigger smile.

He bent down and kissed her, his hands traveling on her slightly swollen stomach. That tree was indeed a place they could call their own, being in the most important pieces of puzzle that composed their lives.

* * *

**So, it's done. I don't know what to think about it. I don't know what to expect from it so please review, I'm really curious to see how this story is taken :)**


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